Beneath the Pages
by thelinksthatconnectus
Summary: "If you want," Raven offered, pulling her book and arms up, "you can leave if you're tired. I'm going to stay up and finish my book. There isn't that much of it left." "Oh, I can wait then." Starfire quieted for a moment, her eyes drifting down."I am not finished either." StarRae drabble based on a Tumblr prompt


"Maybe it would be better if we just stopped." The moment those words left her lips, Starfire yawned. Her book was spread out on her stomach, one of her orange fingers serving as a bookmark. "Raven, the sun has vanished from the sky for many hours. I am still new to your earth ways, but I think that earthlings sleep around this time."

Raven's eyes flickered from the girl's head in her lap (how it had gotten there was anyone's guess, but it felt nice) to the book in Raven's own hands. She placed her bookmark in the book and then closed it, looking at where the bookmark was compared to where the pages ended.

Halfway wasn't even a good adjective any more, and by glance she looked to be over seventy five percent done - though from there she could not calculate just how far she was finished by glance alone.

"However, if one considers that a bad guy might still be out doing the evil, then staying awake is a good idea." Starfire rubbed at her eyes with her free hand. "But today and tonight have shown no signs of the bad. Why are we still up, Raven?"

For a moment, Raven sat, her back leaning in further to the couch. From what she could guess, they were the only two titans still awake (save Robin, who still could be doing who knows what behind the closed door of his room). She considered responding to what Starfire had said before her question, but the words jumbled in her mind.

"I just want to finish my book."

"Oh." Her lips pursed in a straight line, to an expression that Raven couldn't read. Her eyes flickered over to her own book, though they remained still instead of moving while she read.

"If you want," Raven offered, pulling her book and arms up, "you can leave if you're tired. I'm going to stay up and finish my book. There isn't that much of it left."

"Oh, I can wait then." Starfire quieted for a moment, her eyes drifting down."I am not finished either." Her grip tightened on her book, and she held it close to her face once more.

"All right then," Raven said, returning to her own book.

For a while, the two read on in silence once more. It had certainly been a peaceful day, the kind where Raven could sit back and actually enjoy herself without an alarm going off. She and Starfire had begun reading a few hours earlier after an early dinner. The two hadn't said a word, the only sounds their own breathing or the flip of pages.

Since Raven had first taught her how to read, Starfire had become more and more of a bookworm. Whether it was reading the ingredients on the back of a cereal box, flipping through a magazine, or borrowing one of Raven's books, she hungrily went through written words. Written words were different from spoken words, and it had taken her a longer time to get used to them. She had the hang of it now though, and steadily read through whatever book she could get her hands on.

However, after she had gone through a number of pages, Raven stilled. The only page turning she heard was from her own book. Looking down, she saw a blank eyed Starfire who looked as though she didn't even realize that a book was in her hands.

"Star?"

"Yes?" Her voice squeaked at the end.

"What's wrong? If you need to leave, I understand."

"No, I am fine." Starfire slapped on a smile. "Just fine."

"No, really, you can go to bed if you like."

Starfire sat up, the familiar warmth of her leaving Raven's lap. No longer did bright red hair tickle her legs. "No," she said, face stoic as if she were explaining the simplest fact, "I cannot."

"Why?" The question hung in the air for a moment, penetrating the silence before being swallowed by it.

"What if I am eaten?"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Eaten?"

Starfire held her book up. "Yes, eaten."

Raven recognized the book in an instant. It was an old one of hers, and it had descriptions of various dimensions' monsters inside.

"Starfire, you know that doesn't exist in our universe, right?" She pointed to a three legged creature with a large head. "It couldn't survive the earth's atmosphere and would suffocate."

"Oh."

Raven took the book from her. "Here, why don't you read this instead?" She held out her other book.

"But you haven't finished." Starfire's eyes widened.

"And you haven't started." Raven yawned. "Why not start tomorrow?"

Starfire took the book and held it to her chest with one hand. "If you insist, Raven. I am sure that it will be wonderful."

Raven took the other girl's hand and squeezed it. She led her to her room, taking note of the way her grip tightened when the two stepped into the dark. Raven gave Starfire's hand another squeeze.

"Hey, Star," Raven said just before she entered her room.

"Yes?"

"Knowing you, you could beat those monsters easily. If anything, they should be afraid of you."

Starfire beamed, and for a moment longer they kept their hands intertwined.


End file.
